Monday, February 09, 2009

Quinoa Salad With Black Beans and Mango

Well this recipe really is almost the same as the Mango & Black Bean Salad that we really enjoy, except it has some minor changes and uses quinoa instead of rice. But since I have like 8 lbs of quinoa in my pantry, I decided to try this out anyway.

Despite the changes, it really does taste similar. I splurged on some grapeseed oil but have no idea why. At least I have it for future recipes. The meal was very good, but I think we prefer the rice version. I'd recommend this if you want to use quinoa.

The reason our quinoa looks more like couscous than regular quinoa in our photo is because this is from the Spiritual CSA stash my boss gave me, and apparently quinoa that has been prayed over looks different from quinoa that comes in a box from Trader Joe's. At first I thought it was a mistake, but it cooks like quinoa, tastes like quinoa, and smells like quinoa. Must be quinoa?

Combine the mango, red pepper, scallions, and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, and salt and stir to combine. Add the quinoa and stir until everything is well incorporated. Fold in the black beans. Serve immediately or let it sit for a bit to let the flavors meld.

Yield: 5 1/2 cups (fed two of us as a main dish with a little bit left over)